Meaningful Marketplace Podcast

In episode 171, our hosts reviewed the Winter Fancy Food Show in Las Vegas. They will be attending the Summer Show in New York and so will this show’s guest, Laura Dadap, co-founder of Djablo Sauce. Laura and company will be in the Incubator Alley section and the trip to the show won’t be a long one; Laura was born and raised in Queens. For the genesis of the company, let’s start with the name, Dj...

Officially a business since 2019, Brittany Futrell, founder of Angel Wing Sauce, started years earlier experimenting in the kitchen making sauces. At the time, it was for a guy she was dating and she enjoyed cooking for him. Because her mother was an enthusiastic cook, Brittany got started creating recipes early in her life. She enjoyed using her date as her taste tester and when he was absolutely...

For the third straight year, our hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall attended the Winter Fancy Food Show in that magic town, Las Vegas. For a brief explanation of the show and the organization behind it, the show is where foodpreneurs connect with leading buyers, distributors, and retailers, network with peers and enjoy world-class educational programs. It’s a cost-effective and powerful way to...

It’s the Sarah trifecta again on this episode. Sarah Marshall and Sarah Masoni interview Sarah Marcus, founder of Briar Rose Creamery, Dundee, Oregon. This is another check-in show, as Sarah was interviewed previously on episode #68, released in March, 2021. For background, Proprietor and Cheesemaker Sarah Marcus is a Bay Area native and started making cheese in her kitchen. In 2005 she took a cha...

Welcome to the new, expanded format for The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast Shows. Starting with this show, we will be interviewing foodpreneurs from Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Montana, Idaho and Wyoming, thanks to the NW and Rocky Mountain Regional Food Business Center, https://nwrockymountainregionalfoodbusiness.com/ . This regional effort offers an incredibly rich center of information, educa...

It was almost exactly 100 episodes ago we first interviewed Andrea Ludlow, founder of Showstopper Cookies; episode 69 released March of 2021 to be precise. She had started her business about six months prior to the show. Cookie companies are everywhere and they come and go like streetcars. So how has Andrea’s company endured and what makes her cookies legitimate showstoppers? Answer: Focus. Andrea...

Today we reconnect with Hannah Crum, founder of Kombucha Kamp, with whom we had the pleasure of interviewing on episode #84, released in May of 2021. For a quick refresher, Kombucha is fermented tea, an ancient elixir consumed for hundreds or maybe thousands of years by civilizations all over the planet. The most commonly attributed Kombucha Benefits include better digestion, increased energy, and...

Organ meats are nature’s multi-vitamin, according to James Barry, founder of Pluck. Pluck is seasoning for foods, but not just for taste and it’s not just any seasoning. Freeze-dried organ meats are mixed with spices and salts to not only increase the taste of the dish, but to provide a supercharge of nutrients. The flavor Pluck seasoning adds is more than just the spices too. The organ meats prov...

As we continue to check in with guests from previous shows, we circle back to Carrie Solomon, co-founder of Greater Goods and, as we learn in this podcast, Microjoy as well. Microjoy is new since our last show with Carrie, episode #67, released in March of 2021. For a quick background recap, Carrie and her husband started a medical cannabis company in 2014 with a very potent and great smelling top...

We first interviewed Lisa and Maly Douangphoumy, sisters in the family business Sao Noi, on episode number 54, released September, 2020. Their company produces flavored chili oils and flavored beef jerky, all originated from the family’s restaurant business in Hood River, Oregon. Their mother, Marnie and father, Tom started the restaurant and quickly became a staple for the community because of To...

This show is another check-in with a former guest to see what’s changed since our last interview. Today we talk with Kelly Calabria, founder of Kelly’s Jelly. We last chatted with Kelly on episode #46, released in June of 2020. A quick background: Kelly’s Great Aunt Danny had a special recipe for peppery jelly that was irresistible and downright addicitve. However, part of it’s specialty was the d...

Boba has been a highly popular addition to tea drinks worldwide for some decades now. Originating in Taiwan in the 1980s, it has taken the US by storm, served in restaurants, tea bars and sold in grocery stores. The popularity encouraged mass production. Enter Allison Sodha, founder of Better Boba, because Allison believes people deserve the best boba. If you are not familiar, boba is tea with pea...

We first interviewed Robin Rosenberg, CEO of Bobbie’s Boat Sauce on episode 64, released November, 2020. Actually created at sea on a sailboat, Bobbie’s Boat Sauce borrows its name from a repair concoction used by boaters, but not the kind of “sauce” you want to eat. While cleaning out the refrigerator on the boat and with some jazz playing in the background, Robin accidently created a flavor and...

It was three years ago we interviewed Allison “Alli” Ball, founder of Retail Ready and Food Biz Wiz Podcast. It was episode 59 for those of you who want to listen again, or if you missed it the first time. Alli is a former grocery buyer who shares her insider secrets to help packaged food entrepreneurs scale up their sales. She knows what buyers are looking for and what key information buyers need...

Back in May, 2020, we interviewed Nafy Flatley founder of Teranga Foods; the show was released in July, 2020. In this episode, Sarah Masoni talks with Nafy to see what’s changed in her business since then. As a refresher, Teranga literally means hospitality in Wolof, the Senegalese national language. It is the spirit of camaraderie and acceptance of one another. Nafy’s favorite childhood memory is...

This show is definitely authentic, complete with real tractor noise in the background. Yes, we’re coming to you live from the Ellis family’s farm in Mollala, Oregon where they operate their farm-to-consumer business and live a very full life. We had Laura Ellis on our 58th show released back on September 11th, 2020 and our hosts are very interested in checking in with her to see what’s been happen...

Following the growth of our past guests and seeing their success has been a truly inspirational experience, and checking in with Julie Sullivan and Carolyn Cesario, co-founders of Ground Up, is another uplifting show. Our last interview was show number 19 which was released January 22nd, 2020 and for your background, Ground Up is a company that delivers peanut-free nut butters in amazing flavors....

Back on May 13th, 2020, we released show episode 39, an interview with Genevieve Brazelton, self-proclaimed “Bitter Housewife” and founder of The Bitter Housewife cocktail bitters. You realize very quickly there is absolutely nothing bitter about her, but her products certainly are. Quick background reminder: The Bitter Housewife products are cocktail bitters, handcrafted in small batches in Portl...

This show is a repeat of the “hottest” episode in Meaningful Marketplace’s series. Our own Sarah Marshall of Marshall’s Haute Sauce, interviews Catherine and Matt Kuerbis, Founders of Heat You Can Handle (HYCH) makers of another great hot sauce. They were first interviewed February 5, 2020 (episode #25) when the company was called Hoss Soss and we’re going to see what has changed in their business...

Continuing our check in with previous show guests, Sarah Marshall talks today with Katie McCarron Founder of Portland Pet Food. Our last show with Katie was January 8, 2020 (episode #14) and to refresh our audience on her background story, Portland Pet Food began with the family Poodle, Rosie. At 14 years, Rosie had lost her appetite and her health declined. Determined to find something healthy th...

As we continue to look back and interview previous guests to learn how they are doing currently, our host Sarah Marshall talks with Tessa Koch of TMK Creamery. Our first interview with Tessa was November 20, 2019 (episode #6). They had just released their first dairy alcohol product, Cowcohol Vodka. And then the lockdown hit. The facility that was going to do their distilling suddenly had to switc...

In 2000, three families got together to open a neighborhood market, a place where local communities could come together to connect with where their food came from. They wanted a friendly, inviting place that honored its region’s farmers, ranchers, growers and makers—helping them – and their customers – prosper for generations to come. They called it New Seasons Market. A previous New Seasons guest...

Yvonne Finde, founder of Portland, Oregon based Momo Coco was the very first guest in our show series. This interview is a great opportunity for aspiring food entrepreneurs to hear not only how a fellow founder has survived and grown over the last years, but also managed to navigate the challenges of the COVID lockdown. She is the maker of a variety of non-dairy coco mixes so that everyone can enj...

A Florida native now living in Portland, Oregon, Margalaxy founder Margaux (no last name apparently; you know, Cher, Sting, Madonna) always had a passion for creating healthy bodies by feeding them healthy food. She also had a love of baking pastries since the age of 14. So with that as the background, here’s the story. Margaux got her degree in International Baking & Pastry Arts and spent 15...

Sitting in her apartment, Clare McLeod took stock of her relationship with food. Like many young women, she had been addicted to “healthy eating”, restricting added sugar, calories, processed foods, etc. Because of those restrictions to only eat "clean" foods, she intensely craved "unclean" foods. That swing between restriction and indulgence was exhausting - physically, mental...